636 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



some theorists have maintained that the annual production of gold in 

 the world (apart from the phenomenal discoveries in California about 

 the middle of the century, which were of an ephemeral character) 

 does not keep pace with the natural increase in trade requirements, if 

 gold is to maintain its position as the standard measure of value and 

 the universal medium of exchange. This theory, after having passed 

 through the various stages of pro and con argument in academic theses, 

 became the " war cry " of a political party in this country composed 

 of heterogeneous elements in the community, all inspired with one 

 common idea that the balance of power in commercial transactions 

 had been destroyed by the overwhelming force of concentration of 

 capital and the " cornering " of the visible supply of gold in the world 

 by a few enormously wealthy bankers. It was shown that, while 

 the average annual production of gold in the world in five years 

 from 1855 to 1860 exceeded $134,000,000, there was a constant 

 decline thereafter, so that the annual average during five years from 

 1881 to 1885 barely exceeded $99,000,000, according to official esti- 

 mates; also that the annual gold product of the mines of the United 

 States declined from a value of $65,000,000 in 1853 to $33,000,000 

 in 1892. Furthermore, although a rising tendency was observed in 

 each subsequent year, the production from the mines of this country 

 in 1894 was still under $40,000,000, as was shown by the statistics of 

 the United States Treasury Department. 



While admitting the general accuracy of these statements of fact, 

 it is the purpose of this paper to endeavor to show that the conclusions 

 drawn therefrom were entirely fallacious, because due cognizance was 

 not taken of the wonderful progress that has been made in recent years 

 in mining and metallurgical arts whereby countless millions of tons 

 of ore containing gold in such a finely divided state, or in such a re- 

 fractory condition, that it was formerly worthless (costing more to 

 recover the gold than the value of the precious metal contained in 

 the ore), have now rendered these low-grade ores the most stable 

 sources of supply of gold. Metallurgists, having knowledge of these 

 facts, have at various times during the past ten years predicted that a 

 golden stream would soon begin to flow from these practically new 

 and apparently inexhaustible sources; but the people at large were 

 wholly incredulous, and they are now astounded at the magnitude of 

 the production of gold in the world in the past two years; and more 

 especially, perhaps, are they amazed at the increase of production in 

 the United States, as shown by the official reports of the Director of 

 the Mint. 



The gold production of the world in 1897 amounted in value, ac- 

 cording to the most reliable estimates, to more than $237,000,000, 

 and in 1898 to more than $280,000,000; and it is the opinion of the 



